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Snoop Dogg
Snoop Dogg Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. (born October 20, 1971), known professionally as Snoop Dogg, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, television personality and actor. His music career began in 1992 when he was discovered by Dr. Dre and featured on Dre's solo debut, "Deep Cover", and then on Dre's solo debut album, The Chronic. He has since sold over 23 million albums in the United States and 35 million albums worldwide. Snoop's debut album, Doggystyle, produced by Dr. Dre, was released in 1993 by Death Row Records. "Hyped" or influenced by Snoop's featuring on The Chronic, the album debuted at number one on both the Billboard 200 and Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts. Selling almost a million copies in the first week of its release, Doggystyle became certified 4× platinum in 1994 and spawned several hit singles, including "What's My Name?" and "Gin & Juice". In 1994 Snoop released a soundtrack on Death Row Records for the short film Murder Was the Case, starring himself. His second album, Tha Doggfather (1996), also debuted at number one on both charts, with "Snoop's Upside Ya Head" as the lead single. The album was certified double platinum in 1997. After leaving Death Row Records, Snoop signed with No Limit Records, where he recorded his next three albums, Da Game Is to Be Sold, Not to Be Told (1998), No Limit Top Dogg (1999), and Tha Last Meal (2000). Snoop then signed with Priority/Capitol/EMI Records in 2002, where he released Paid tha Cost to Be da Boss. He then signed with Geffen Records in 2004 for his next three albums, R&G (Rhythm & Gangsta): The Masterpiece, Tha Blue Carpet Treatment, and Ego Trippin'. Malice 'n Wonderland (2009), and Doggumentary (2011) were released on Priority. Snoop Dogg has starred in motion pictures and hosted several television shows, including Doggy Fizzle Televizzle, Snoop Dogg's Father Hood, and Dogg After Dark. He also coaches a youth football league and high school football team. In September 2009 Snoop was hired by EMI as the chairman of a reactivated Priority Records. In 2012, after a trip to Jamaica, Snoop announced a conversion to Rastafarianism and a new alias, Snoop Lion. As Snoop Lion he released a reggae album, Reincarnated, and a documentary film of the same name, about his Jamaican experience, in early 2013. His 13th studio album, Bush, was released in May 2015 and marked a return of the Snoop Dogg name. His 14th solo studio album, Coolaid, was released in July 2016. Snoop has 17 Grammy nominations without a win. In March 2016, the night before WrestleMania 32 in Arlington, Texas, he was inducted into the celebrity wing of the WWE Hall of Fame, having made several appearances for the company, including as Master of Ceremonies during a match at WrestleMania XXIV. In 2018, he released his first gospel album, Bible of Love. Early life Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. was born in Long Beach, California, the second of three sons. He was named after his stepfather, Calvin Cordozar Broadus Sr. His mother is Beverly Broadus (née Tate).131415 His father, Vernell Varnado, was a Vietnam veteran, singer, and mail carrier who was frequently absent from his life. As a boy, Broadus's parents nicknamed him "Snoopy" because of his appearance but usually addressed him as Calvin at home. His mother and stepfather divorced in 1975. When he was very young, Broadus began singing and playing piano at Golgotha Trinity Baptist Church. In sixth grade, he began rapping.1819 Broadus's father left the family when he was three months old. A DNA test read by George Lopez on Lopez Tonight revealed Broadus to be of 71% African, 23% Native American, and 6% European descent. As a teenager, Broadus frequently ran into trouble with the law. He was a member of the Rollin' 20 Crips gang in the Eastside area of Long Beach, although he stated in 1993 that he never joined a gang. Shortly after graduating from high school, he was arrested for possession of cocaine, and for the next three years was frequently in and out of prison (including Wayside Jail). With his cousins Nate Dogg and Lil' ½ Dead and friend Warren G, Snoop recorded homemade tapes as a group called 213, named after the Long Beach area code. One of his early solo freestyles over En Vogue's "Hold On" made it to a mixtape that was heard by influential producer Dr. Dre, who called to invite him to an audition. Former N.W.A associate The D.O.C. taught him how to structure his lyrics and separate the thematics into verses, hooks, and chorus. Career 1991–1997: Death Row, Doggystyle, and Tha Doggfather When he began recording, Broadus took the stage name Snoop Doggy Dogg. Dr. Dre began working with Snoop Dogg, first on the theme song of the 1992 film Deep Cover, and then on Dr. Dre's debut solo album The Chronic with the other members of his former starting group, Tha Dogg Pound. The huge success of Snoop Dogg's debut Doggystyle was partially because of this intense exposure. Fueling the ascendance of West Coast G-funk hip hop, the singles "Who Am I (What's My Name)?" and "Gin and Juice" reached the top ten most-played songs in the United States, and the album stayed on the Billboard charts for several months. Gangsta rapbecame the center of arguments about censorship and labeling, with Snoop Dogg often used as an example of violent and misogynistic musicians. Unlike much of the harder-edged gangsta rap artists, Snoop Dogg seemed to show his softer side, according to music journalist Chuck Philips. Rolling Stone music critic Touré asserted that Snoop had a relatively soft vocal delivery compared to other rappers: "Snoop's vocal style is part of what distinguishes him: where many rappers scream, figuratively and literally, he speaks softly." Doggystyle, much like The Chronic, featured a host of rappers signed to or affiliated with the Death Row label including Daz Dillinger, Kurupt, Nate Dogg, and others. A short film about Snoop Dogg's murder trial, Murder Was the Case, was released in 1994, along with an accompanying soundtrack. On July 6, 1995, Doggy Style Records, Inc., a record label founded by Snoop Dogg, was registered with the California Secretary of State as business entity number C1923139. After Snoop Dogg was acquitted of murder on February 20, 1996, he, the mother of his son, and their kennel of 20 pit bulls moved into a 5,000-square-foot (460 m) home in the hills of Claremont, California and by August 1996 Doggy Style Records, a subsidiary of Death Row Records, signed the Gap Band's Charlie Wilson as one of its first artists. He collaborated with fellow rap artist Tupac Shakur on the 1996 single 2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted. This was one of Shakur's last songs while alive; he was shot on September 7, 1996, in Las Vegas, dying 6 days later. By the time Snoop Dogg's second album, Tha Doggfather, was released in November 1996, the price of living (or sometimes just imitating) the gangsta life had become very evident. Among the many notable hip hop industry deaths and convictions were the death of Snoop Dogg's friend and labelmate Tupac Shakur and the racketeering indictment of Death Row co-founder Suge Knight. Dr. Dre had left Death Row earlier in 1996 because of a contract dispute, so Snoop Dogg co-produced Tha Doggfather with Daz Dillinger and DJ Pooh. This album featured a distinct change of style from Doggystyle, and the leadoff single, "Snoop's Upside Ya Head", featured a collaboration with Charlie Wilson. The album sold reasonably well but was not as successful as its predecessor. Tha Doggfather had a somewhat softer approach to the G-funk style. After Dr. Dre withdrew from Death Row Records, Snoop realized that he was subject to an ironclad time-based contract (i.e., that Death Row practically owned anything he produced for a number of years), and refused to produce any more tracks for Suge Knight other than the insulting "Fuck Death Row" until his contract expired. In an interview with Neil Strauss in 1998, Snoop Dogg said that though he had been given lavish gifts by his former label, they had withheld his royalty payments. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic said that after Tha Doggfather, Snoop Dogg began "moving away from his gangsta roots toward a calmer lyrical aesthetic": for instance, Snoop participated in the 1997 Lollapalooza concert tour, which featured mainly alternative rock music. Troy J. Augusto of Variety noticed that Snoop's set at Lollapalooza attracted "much dancing, and, strangely, even a small mosh pit" in the audience. 1998–2006: Signing with No Limit and continued success Snoop signed with Master P's No Limit Records (distributed by Priority/EMI Records) in 1998 and debuted on the label with Da Game Is to Be Sold, Not to Be Told that year. His other albums on No Limit were No Limit Top Dogg in 1999 (selling over 1,503,865 copies) and Tha Last Meal in 2000 (selling over 2,000,000).11 In 1999, his autobiography, Tha Doggfather, was published. In 2002, he released the album Paid tha Cost to Be da Bo$$, on Priority/Capitol/EMI, selling over 1,300,000 copies. The album featured the hit singles "From tha Chuuuch to da Palace" and "Beautiful", featuring guest vocals by Pharrell. By this stage in his career, Snoop Dogg had left behind his "gangster" image and embraced a "pimp" image. In 2004, Snoop signed to Geffen Records/Star Trak Entertainment, both distributed by Interscope Records; Star Trak is headed by producer duo the Neptunes, which produced several tracks for Snoop's 2004 release R&G (Rhythm & Gangsta): The Masterpiece. "Drop It Like It's Hot" (featuring Pharrell), the first single released from the album, was a hit and became Snoop Dogg's first single to reach number one. His third release was "Signs", featuring Justin Timberlake and Charlie Wilson, which entered the UK chart at No. 2. This was his highest entry ever in the UK chart. The album sold 1,724,000 copies in the U.S. alone, and most of its singles were heavily played on radio and television. Snoop Dogg joined Warren G and Nate Dogg to form the group 213 and released The Hard Way in 2004. Debuting at No.4 on the Billboard 200 and No.1 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, it included the single "Groupie Luv". Snoop Dogg appeared in the music video for Korn's "Twisted Transistor" along with fellow rappers Lil Jon, Xzibit, and David Banner, Snoop Dogg appeared on two tracks from Ice Cube's 2006 album Laugh Now, Cry Later, including "Go to Church", and on several tracks on Tha Dogg Pound's Cali Iz Active the same year. His song "Real Talk" was leaked on the Internet in the summer of 2006 and a video was later released on the Internet. "Real Talk" was dedicated to former Crips leader Stanley "Tookie" Williams and a diss to Arnold Schwarzenegger, the governor of California. Two other singles on which Snoop made a guest performance were "Keep Bouncing" by Too $hort (also with will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas) and "Gangsta Walk" by Coolio. Snoop's 2006 album Tha Blue Carpet Treatment debuted on the Billboard 200 at No.5 and sold over 850,000 copies. The album and the second single "That's That Shit" featuring R. Kelly were well received by critics. In the album, he collaborated in a video with E-40 and other West Coast rappers on the single "Candy (Drippin' Like Water)". 2007–2012: Ego Trippin', Malice n Wonderland and Doggumentary In July 2007, Snoop Dogg made history by becoming the first artist to release a track as a ringtone before its release as a single, "It's the D.O.G." On July 7, 2007, Snoop Dogg performed at the Live Earth concert, Hamburg. Snoop Dogg has ventured into singing for Bollywood with his first ever rap for an Indian movie, Singh Is Kinng; the song title is also "Singh is Kinng". He appears in the movie as himself. The album featuring the song was released on June 8, 2008 on Junglee Music Records. He released his ninth studio album, Ego Trippin' (selling 400,000 copies in the U.S.), along with the first single, "Sexual Eruption". The single peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard 100, featuring Snoop using autotune. The album featured production from QDT (Quik-Dogg-Teddy). Snoop was appointed an executive position at Priority Records. His tenth studio album, Malice n Wonderland, was released on December 8, 2009. The first single from the album, "Gangsta Luv", featuring The-Dream, peaked at No.35 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album debuted at No.23 on the Billboard 200, selling 61,000 copies its first week, making it his lowest charting album. His third single, "I Wanna Rock", peaked at No.41 on the Billboard Hot 100. The fourth single from Malice n Wonderland, titled "Pronto", featuring Soulja Boy Tell 'Em, was released on iTunes on December 1, 2009. Snoop re-released the album under the name More Malice. Snoop collaborated with Katy Perry on "California Gurls", the first single from her album Teenage Dream, which was released on May 11, 2010. Snoop can also be heard on the track "Flashing" by Dr. Dre and on Curren$y's song "Seat Change". He was also featured on a new single from Australian singer Jessica Mauboy, titled "Get 'em Girls" (released September 2010). Snoop's latest effort was backing American recording artist, Emii, on her second single entitled "Mr. Romeo" (released October 26, 2010 as a follow-up to "Magic"). Snoop also collaborated with American comedy troupe the Lonely Island in their song "Turtleneck & Chain", in their 2011 album Turtleneck & Chain. Snoop Dogg's eleventh studio album is Doggumentary. The album went through several tentative titles including Doggystyle 2: Tha Doggumentary and Doggumentary Music: 0020 before being released under the final title Doggumentary during March 2011.Snoop was featured on Gorillaz' album Plastic Beach on a track called: "Welcome to the World of the Plastic Beach" with the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, he also completed another track with them entitled "Sumthing Like This Night" which does not appear on Plastic Beach, yet does appear on Doggumentary. He also appears on the latest Tech N9ne album All 6's and 7's (released June 7, 2011) on a track called "Pornographic" which also 2014–present: Bush, Coolaid, Neva Left and Bible of Love In August 2014, a clip surfaced online featuring a sneak preview of a song Snoop had recorded for Pharrell. Snoop's Pharrell Williams-produced album Bush was released on May 12, 2015, with the first single "Peaches N Cream" having been released on March 10, 2015. On June 13, 2016, Snoop Dogg announced the release date for his album Coolaid, which was released on July 1, 2016. He headlined a "unity party" for donors at Philly's Electric Factory on July 28, 2016, the last day of the Democratic National Convention. Released March 1, 2017 through his own Doggy Style Records, "Promise You This" precedes the release of his upcoming Coolaid film based on the album of the same name. Snoop Dogg released his fifteenth studio album Neva Left in May 2017. He released a gospel album titled Bible of Love on March 16, 2018.Snoop was featured on Gorillaz' latest album The Now Now on a track called: "Hollywood" with Jamie Principle. Style and rap skills Kool Moe Dee ranks Snoop at No. 33 in his book There's a God on the Mic, and says he has "an ultra-smooth, laidback delivery" and "flavor-filled melodic rhyming". Peter Shapiro describes Snoop's delivery as a "molasses drawl" and AllMusic notes his "drawled, laconic rhyming" style. Kool Moe Dee refers to Snoop's use of vocabulary, saying he "keeps it real simple...he simplifies it and he's effective in his simplicity". Snoop is known to freestyle some of his lyrics on the spot for some songs – in the book How to Rap, Lady of Rage says, "Snoop Dogg, when I worked with him earlier in his career, that's how created his stuff... he would freestyle, he wasn't a writer then, he was a freestyler," and The D.O.C. states, "Snoop's rap was a one take willy, but his shit was all freestyle. He hadn't written nothing down. He just came in and started busting. The song was "Tha Shiznit"—that was all freestyle. He started busting and when we got to the break, Dre cut the machine off, did the chorus and told Snoop to come back in. He did that throughout the record. That's when Snoop was in the zone then." Peter Shapiro says that Snoop debuted on "Deep Cover" with a "shockingly original flow – which sounded like a Slick Rick born in South Carolina instead of South London" and adds that he "showed where his style came from by covering Slick Rick's 'La Di Da Di'". Referring to Snoop's flow, Kool Moe Dee calls him "one of the smoothest, funkiest flow-ers in the game". How to Rap also notes that Snoop is known to use syncopation in his flow to give it a laidback quality, as well as 'linking with rhythm' in his compound rhymes, using alliteration, and employing a "sparse" flow with good use of pauses. Snoop re-popularized the use of ''-izzle speak'', particularly in the pop and hip-hop music industry. Filmography Category:Snoop Dogg Category:West Coast Rappers Category:Rappers Category:Crips Category:Rollin'20's Crips Category:Male Category:Crips affiliated rappers in North America Category:African American rappers Category:Hip Hop